Headless Server: remote desktop

[Rinkhals]

I've got a Debian server which is headless.

I want to get a remote desktop working on it.

What is the minimum I would need to install to get VNC working?

Obviously I would need a basic Xserver. What else? GDM? KDM? A small Window Manager?

Asking here because I can't get onto International sites like Linuxquestions.org

 

[SilverNodashi]

Well, you need to install Xserver, then KDE / Gnome / Blackbox / etc, and then install vnc

 

[Rinkhals]

:X

I guess that's roughly what I expected. (Dammit).

Wait a minute, though. No real need to install gnome is there?

KDE has a minimal install, too, surely.

 

[Rinkhals]

The following apps are listed as being relevant to VNC:

libvncserver-dev linuxvnc pyvnc2swf python2.5-gtk-vnc libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
vnc-java tightvnc-java x11vnc xvnc4viewer libvncserver0 gvncviewer
vncsnapshot vnc-viewer vncviewer vnc-server x2vnc libgtk-vnc-1.0-dev
mozilla-gtk-vnc vnc4server tightvncserver tkvnc libgtk-vnc-1.0-0-dbg
gtkvncviewer python-gtk-vnc libvncserver0-dbg xtightvncviewer
libsvncpp-dev directvnc libsvncpp1

I'm running Debian Lenny. Presumably if I pick out a light VNC server, Aptitude will also install XServer et al as dependencies.

Which of those Apps is a nice light VNC Server? Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[koffiejunkie]

See my post in this thread about exactly this.

 

[SilverNodashi]

I haven't used any, only use SSH, but when you install it, apt-get will download & install all the needed libraries as well.
On CentOS one would run

yum groupinstall "X Window System" "GNOME Desktop Environment"

Maybe Debian has something similar?


The only problem I see with this, is how are you going to configure the VNC server? Sure, you can do it via SSH, but which files to edit, etc?

 

[Rinkhals]

Well, I've done it before on a Gentoo box, but that was years ago and hopefully things are less arcane now.

But yes, I'm going to have a problem with VNC as it uses port 5901 and the router is not configured to allow access through that port.

So, KJ, you recommend tight VNC server?

 

[koffiejunkie]

I wouldn't go as far as saying I recommend tightvnc. I don't recommend anything with a gui at all on a server. I use VNC reluctantly because I have no other option in this case, and I chose tightvnc because I got it working relatively easily (given that I don't deal with desktoppy stuff much).

 

[Nod]

Why do you need a GUI?

There are a few small window managers available (twm, blackbox, fvwm2, etc).

You could also have a look at freeNX instead of VNC. Much lighter on the network resources.

 

[Rocket-Boy]

I have never needed a frontend on my servers up until recently. Some of the DSL routers on site like being configured internally via browser only when they go down. Other than that why are you needing a frontend if you dont mind me asking?

 

[koffiejunkie]

The only server I run VNC on is my storage/torrent server, and that's to do with my choice of torrent client and choice of torrent site that doesn't work well in links/lynx. But that's not a public server - no one can get to it but me, so it's not an issue. Also because I use it for handbrake - it's a headless box, after all.

On the kind of servers I deal with - mail and web mostly - there's no gui.